New Scientist


‘Off the charts’ El Niño is already the strongest since records began

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Renowned climate scientist James Hansen says the developing super El Niño has already "blown past" previous events with months to go before it peaks


Greenland meltwater is intensifying European heatwaves

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000

The cooling of the North Atlantic is creating waviness in the jet stream and high-pressure ridging over Europe, a study finds


Burns improve more rapidly after treatment with fish skin

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Severe burns are often treated with synthetic products ahead of skin graft surgery, but there is evidence that a product made from minimally processed cod skin is more effective


Super El Niño could lead to mega CO2 emissions from fires in Indonesia

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:45:00 +0000

Intense fires are already burning in Indonesia, and there could be much worse to come as the Super El Niño ramps up


How long could we possibly live? A new estimate is mind-boggling

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Biogerontologists are exploring the upper limit for human life. A recent study has it verging on two centuries – but columnist Graham Lawton finds reason to be sceptical


Strange gamma-ray signal could be most direct evidence of dark matter yet

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Researchers spotted an unusual gamma-ray signal in three galaxy clusters, which may be a telltale sign of dark matter – or some even more exotic phenomenon


Will personalised mRNA vaccines transform cancer treatments?

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:48:13 +0000

A personalised mRNA cancer vaccine has produced positive results in a final-stage trial involving skin cancer, raising hopes that this approach could work against many cancers


Two emerging tick viruses that can be deadly are spreading in the US

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Heartland virus and Bourbon virus, which are transmitted by lone star ticks, have killed at least seven people in the US


Depression doesn’t shrink the brain like we thought it did

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

For the past decade, depression has been linked to a shrunken hippocampus, which has a vital role in memory. But a large study using up-to-date scanning techniques suggests this may not be the case


NASA calls off rescue effort to save doomed telescope

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:20:00 +0000

The Swift observatory will now re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in a few months, after a mission to boost it higher failed